Have you ever made hand pies? Or homemade pastries? These little raspberry-orange pies were my first experience. Driscoll’s challenged me to come up with a raspberry pie recipe, so I stepped up to the plate and spent a slow Sunday perfecting these babies. That day, I tested different whole grain flour combinations, experienced an epic coconut oil crust-shattering fail and popped raspberries when I just couldn’t resist.
Finally, I was finally rewarded with perfectly golden, flaky crust wrapped around juicy raspberry-orange filling. Raspberries are the star ingredient in the filling, which might seem a little unexpected given the time of year. I’ve always associated raspberries with blazing hot summer days, but did you know that there’s actually a second raspberry season that lasts until the first frost? Like all other sweet fall produce, raspberries play nicely with warming spices and winter citrus. These portable little pies aren’t complete without that orange zest-flecked cinnamon glaze, which contributes a Pop Tart-level irresistibility and some fun abstract stripes. I can’t imagine a kid or an adult who wouldn’t smile when they take a bite of these unexpected treats around the holidays.
Fair warning: hand pies can be a little tricky, but if I can manage them, then I am confident you can, too. The key to a manageable dough and perfectly crackling crust is cold butter—you want little chunks of butter in there, which create flaky pockets in the dough. I highly recommend making this dough the night before, as it’s more manageable after an overnight rest in the refrigerator. I also recommend rolling out the dough in a cool room, which shouldn’t be too hard to find in November and December. My house was way too warm when I rolled out the hand pies you see here (80 degrees at the end of October!), so if that happens to you, turn on the air conditioner and chill the dough again, as often as necessary.
Since pastries can be intimidating, I took extra care typing up detail instructions on how to make these little raspberry pies. You can find my recipe below and on Driscoll’s website over here! Be sure to check out all the other holiday raspberry treats created by other bloggers and recipe developers over here, too. This post is a paid endorsement from Driscoll’s – Visit www.driscolls.com for more berry recipes and to enter their holiday sweepstakes.
